How to Make a Banana Milkshake

Making a Traditional Banana Milkshake

Put a sliced banana or two into the blender. It's best if frozen. As long as it's ripe, it'll be fine. When it's frozen, it's colder and it eliminates the need for more ice.

Add 1/2 cup milk and 1 cup ice to the blender. If the ice is crushed, it'll be much easier on your blender and the process will go a lot faster. What kind of milk? That's up to you. Watching calories? Go non-fat, soy, or almond. Want something creamier? 2% or coconut milk will do the trick.

Add a scoop of ice cream. This is where your creativity can take over. Vanilla is standard and will let the banana shine, but the world is your Baskin Robbins right now. If you wanted 31 different flavors in your milkshake, it could happen. What are you hankering for? Some recommendations? Peanut butter, chocolate, peanut butter chocolate, strawberry, coconut, mango, or coffee. And if you can handle it, banana.

Add 4-6 chopped almonds. This is for a bit of a zing and texture, but can be omitted. If you don't have almonds on hand but would like something else in your milkshake, consider adding 1/2 cup of oats, quinoa or peanut butter. Love almonds? Go on, add more! Now, add vanilla extract, if desired. It'll bring out the natural vanilla flavors in your shake.

Blend ingredients until mixture is smooth. If ice gets lodged in the bottom of your blender, take your spoon and mix it between blending sessions. Aside from that, the blending process should take a minute or two.

Add sugar to taste. At last, this is an excuse for a taste test! Try a spoonful and gauge how much sugar it needs, if any. Honey is a good natural alternative, and a sugar substitute (such as Splenda) is good, too. A teaspoon or two ought to be enough.

Pour into frosted mugs. In a cold mug, the milkshake will stay cold and thick longer. If you have leftovers, keep them in the fridge or the freezer until you crave more.

Enjoy! The recipe above serves 2. Next time, try your own variation -- banana goes well with many flavors and is a perfect platform for trying wacky combinations. If you'd like, garnish it with a cherry, whip cream, chocolate chips, or chopped almonds.

Making a Non-Dairy Banana Milkshake

Add 1 or 2 sliced, ripe bananas to your blender. Frozen bananas are good for a colder, thicker milkshake.

Add 1 cup ice and liquid of choice. Crushed ice is easier on your blender. And for the liquid, you can go two routes: A milk substitute, such as soy, almond, or coconut. Your traditional milkshake combines well with chocolate, peanut butter, and other, sweeter, nuttier flavors. Juice, like orange, apple, or pineapple make a smoothie that combines better with other fruits and vegetables -- like blueberries, mango, kale, or spinach.

Add sugar and additional flavors you'd like to try. Bananas are sweet enough that they don't need added sugar and if you've used juice or coconut milk, the concoction may be sweet enough. Why don't you give it a taste and see? As for additional flavors, the ones mentioned in the previous step will be great, but the limits are only your imagination. If it's fruity, vegetable-y, chocolatey, or nutty, it might work! Go for 1/2 cup or less, depending on how powerful you want the flavor..

Blend away. Whip it up! It should only take a minute or two. It may need mixing once or twice before it's done if the ice decides to be difficult. Adjust thickness by adding extra liquid or fruit as necessary.

Pour into glasses and enjoy. This recipe makes 2 servings. If there's any left over, pop it into a glass and chill it for later. Garnish with a straw and whipped cream, cherries, chocolate chips, nuts, or a fruit wedge.